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WATER1 GLOSBT.

Patented May 16, 1882.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

R. D. o. SMITH.

WATER oLosm. No. 258,144. ,f Patented May 16, 1882.

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(No Model.) R D' 0" SMITH' 4 sheets-smeet 4.

` v WATER cLosET. No' 258-1441 Patented May 16, 1882;'""

N. PETERS. Phuilhhognphlr. Wanhlngwm EL C.

lllntrnn STATES PATENT Crate-nt.

ROBERT D. O. SMITH, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

WATER-CLOSET.

ASPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 258,144, dated May il6, 1882.

Application tiled August 1, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, ROBERT D. O. SMlTn,

3.11ct' Washington, in the District of Columbia,

have invented new and useful Improvements in WateeClosets; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and accurate description of the same. n

The waterclosets heretofore in use may he Y grouped in two characteristic classes: first,

those which employ a small quantity of water l and generally admitthe same by means ot an automatically slow-elosin g cock and, second,

.s those which employ a large quantity ot' Water discharged in a short space of time. These last are flushing-closets; and myinvention relates particularly to closets of that class, although one part of it may be employed with aslow-closingcock. SometimestheHush-water is contained within the closet and sometimes it is contained in a cistern hung to the wall .jections second is objectionable because of the machincry required to operate the valves; and, in case the reservoir is within the closet, it is objectionable because of the presence ot' a. body of water so close to the person, because the bowlcannot be adequately ventilated under such circumstances, and because of the foul accumulation about the valve and in the hidden places within the closet.

My improvement obviates all of these 0b- With it there is no" leakage to be guarded against. The water is discharged from a reservoir adjacent to but not a part ot' the closet with as great rapidityas maybe possible without danger of overliowing the bowl. The ordinary machinery is entirely dis pensedlwith, and its substitute is a single rockshaft operatedby the weight ot' the use'r and one valve-stem provided with two valves. The

valve-stem is located entirely within thewaterway of the discharge-tube, and no stuffing is required to prevent leakage. If any/leakage occurs, thedrip will be into the bowl. There is no body of water resting within the closet to deposit sediment or lilth of any kind around thevalve or in the hidden recesses ofthe closet. Among other advantages `ot my closet are the following: With a small service-pipe a flush of any desired quantity may be obtained at the service-pressure without the machinery required to operate the valves in an elevated cistern. It' in any locality the waterservice is intermittent, a single ord inary suspended cistern may be employed for any number of closets without employing any ofthe ordinary Inachinery for operating valves in elevated reservoirs. My valves are all below the level ot the seat, while the reservoir for water is above that point, and the force required to eject the water with required velocity is obtained by gravity alone or by gravity and expansion of com pressed air combined.

That others may fully understand my invention,I will more particularly describe it, having reference to the accompanying drawings, whereinv Figurel 1 isa perspective view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section ofthe valve-case and valves. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the air-chamber, showing how an airvalve maybe inserted for use with either very low or very high pressure. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 illustrate the manner ot' using a cistern when water-service is intermittent. Fig.. Preprescnts the reservoir hung on the wall. Figs. 8 and 9 represent the preferred mechanism for operating the valve-stem. Figs. 1l) and ll illustrate a. modification ot' the device for moving the valverod. Fig. 12 shows acommon place where the water-pipe discharges into the u bowl A. v V D is thenlet-valve in the service-pipel B.1 One object ot my'invention is to operate this valve D without resort to connection therewith,

outside of the hopper or boWlA, so that if for" in or about the valve the drip therefrom willN any reason whatever there should be leakage f I,

IOO

run into the hopper A instead of running upon the floor. I therefore operate the" valve D from within the water-way by a stem,"E, which extends through the discharge-opening within the bowl, where it may be operated by a lever, F, or other mechanism attached to or operated by the scat automatically, or by a pull, it' the automatic action is notdesirable. rIhe modes of operating said lever F so as to actuate the rod E to open the valve are various, and while I show and claim that mode which I deem to be most desirable under general circumstances I do not wish to` restrict myselt` thereto, for the reason that the advantage of dispensing with outside connection with the valve is quite independtnit ot' the kind ot' dcvice employed to operate the inside connection. When the power to actuate the valve is derived from the depression of the seat it is desirable that the movement ot' the seat at its front end shall not exceed one-half inch, or thereabont, and themovement of the valveD ought to be from one-fourth to one-half ofan inch.' Itis therefore necessary toemploy some intermediate device which shall transmit motion with a varying rate. The simplest arrangement of the inlet-valve D is that shown in Fig. 2-viz., in line with the axis ot' the inlet and therefore operated directly by the valvestem E-and to accommodate that simple arrangement I place the transmitting device between the end of said valve-stein and the seat t, and the same may consist ot a compound lever, of which a simple and efticient form is shown in Figs. l, S, and 9, wherein the seat rests upon one member, Gr, and the levers Y F constitute the other member.

To avoid the curvilinear motion ot' the free end ot' the lever F, a slide, H, maybe employed, as shown in Figs. 10 and ll, attached to and operated by a lever, F.

The valve D may be a simple puppet-valve, which is opened and held open by depression otl the seat 5' or it may be ot' that variety common in water-closets which, being` pushed open, can'onl y close again slowly,1' ermitting the iiow of water to continue during the time occupied in closing. It is apparent that one of the wellknown devicesfor causing a valve to close slow- A ly may be employed with valve D Without fur. ther invention, as shown in Fig. 12.

It is considered highly desirable that when the closet has been used a large quantity ot' water, amounting to two or three gallons or more, shall be quickly discharged into the bowl, so' as to forcibly sweep out the solid mattersvin the bowl or trap and cast them over into the soil-pipe. If this quantity of water is to bedrawn directly from the service-pipe, a very large s'ervicepipe must be provided, and as this is not generally practicable, some facility for storage must be provided, and i'or this, as before stated, two plans are in vogue: First, a cistern or tank, J, issuspended upon the wall from six to nine feet above the closet, from which the required ush may be drawn,

an automatic inletvalve, Q, being provided for said cistern, so that the water suddenly discharged is resupplied at leisure; second, the closet itself constitutes acisteru. In place ot' these, I place a reservoir, L', in connection with the service-pipe between the valve D and the pointof discharge into the bowl, and provide a second valve, M, upon the stem E, so that when the valve D is opened the valve M is closed by the same movement, and the water which ilows through valve D therefore presses into said reservoir instead of passing intothc bowl, and when (the valve-stem E being released) valve D closes and valve M opens the water in said reservoir escapes into the bowl. The orifice closed by valve M is ot' su't cient size to permit the discharge with the de'- sired rapidity, and. in thisvway the required tlnsh may be obtained with a very small service pipe, and without any objectionable fea'- tnres 'attending either the cistern upon the 'l i wall or the cistein within the b owl. When the servicepressure is adequate-say lfrom eight;

to it'teen or twenty pounds per inch-tile reservoir L is made of proper size, and closed 'at the top, so that the air is compresed in the top of said reservoir until theresistance of the compressed air equals the service-pressure, and then, when the valve M is opened, the inclosed water rushes ont from the large orifice at M with a velocity due to said pressure. In this way the pressure-Hush may be obtained without reference to theA height or head of wa ter within said reservoir; but in many localities the pressure may be either inadequate or excessive, and I then make the reservoir L taller, so as to secure'a pressure from the height ot' water column, and a iioat-valve, N, is placed in or near the top of said reservoir, so that the air, instead of being compressed, will escape as the water rises in said reservoir until said roo les

valve closes, to preventthe water from over- I flowing.

y By placing lthe valve N more or less near to the top of the reservoir the quantity' of air coinpressed and the quantity of the consequent air-spring may be regulated, and a light air pressure may be utilized to set the Hush-water in motion quickly.

Then the water in the reservoir L is under considerable pressure and the valve M is permitted to open suddenly the water nearest the valve will seek instant relief in a sudden and violent jet or spurt, whereas time is required to set the whole body ot' water in motion. 'Ihis sudden jet is objectionable, becauseit makes a splash and spatter. To control this I set the valve M back from the outlet R, so that the first jet is expendedin a chamber, O, and the splash is contined within said chamber.

When the servicepressure is excessive-say twenty-tive pounds per inch and upward-'the reservoir L, provided with the valve N, will ll and stand under that pressure until theinstantof release, when the valve D closes and IlO , to the cistern" J, so as to serve also as an over` mittent, as is the case generally upon upper` floors of high houses and upon the higher levels in cities. In such places it is necessary to provide storage for such a supply of water as will` tide over the periods of intermitted service, For waterclosets this stored supply is usually contained in a cistern, J, hung upon the wall of4 the apartment; but said supply may be conta-ined in a tank or cistern located elsewhere, if desired. If thestorage-cistern is at a considerable height above the closet, then the reservoir L may be employed exactly as though the water was being derived from a publicwater-service; butif the immediate supply is contained in a cistern but a few feet above the closet, then the reservoir may be arranged as typically shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6.

In Fig. et the reservoir L is represented by the stand-pipe L', which communicates at its topwith the cistern J and serves as an overflow therefor, and is sufficiently large to contain the requisite quantity of flush-water. In such cases as this the valve N will not be required. v d Fig. 5 represents a modification of Fig. 4, showing a service-box, S, Within or attached ow, and a discharge-pipe, L2, which differs from L in being smaller, the boxSbeinglarge enough to contain the requisite quantity.

Fig. 6 shows howseveralclosets may be supplied from one cistern, detached service-reservoirs L3 being employed. These service-boxes are placed at the same elevation as cistern J, and they ll to the same waterlevel. In this case an overflow-pipe, T, may be caused to discharge into one of the boxes L3, or elsewhere, as most convenient.

It is apparentthat the source from which the water is derived is not an essential consideration in this case, and that the modifical tions of the reservoir L shown herein are which incloses the valve-case. At the front edge of the plate U, I provide bearings for` a rock-shaft, W, upon which I mount the lever F, which actuates the valve-stein, and also the lever Y, whereby mot-ion is communicated to the said rock-shaft.

A lever, G, isfulcrumed upon the seat-frame or upon the riser at the front, and its free end is coupled to the free end of lever Y. `Alstud, g, extends between the lever G and the seat, and may be loosely placed in a proper socket in the seat to retain it; or it may be attached to either the lever G or the seat, as most .desirable. I prefer to attach it to they seat,be canse in that way it will not be liable toiloss,

and will have a longer radius of motion` than v if attached to the lever G. The couplingbetween levers G and `Y is preferably an elastic one, andis composed of a wire stirrup .having` a portion of its center coiled, as shown ata. This will accommodate any difference in range of movement between the seat and valvestem.

A counter-weight, k, may be applied torrelieve the valve-stem from pressure-when the user rises from the seat. The arrangement shown in Fig. l differs slightly in organization, but is the same in effect as that above described. Y Y

At the bottom of the reservoir the shell O is placed to receive the valve-case, which conf sists of two parts, a and i). The parta is provided at one end with the seat d for the-inletvalve D, and means for coupling the servicepipe B, and at its front end it is facedv to constitute a seat, e, for the-valve M. At the front cnd,also, it has an external screw-thread, and is thereby fitted to screw into the part b. Parts ay b are provided with true shoulders It 1'., which match with corresponding faces of the shellG,so that when said parts a b are screwed together'said shoulders It z' are mutua-ll y forced back toward the corresponding faces of said shell, and if packing-rin gs are interposed tight joints are made there. The part b is provided at its front end with an outlet, R, and an ori-- of leather or rubber, which by the Water-press ure will be forced against the inner surface of b around said stem. A small drainagachan- IOC) IIO

nel, a, is cnt across the screw-threads in part l b, and permits the water to drain out of the reservoir after each discharge, and thereby obviate any difficulties from freezing which might otherwise occur. With this arrangei ment of parts, if it shall become necessary to remove the valves at any time, such removal may be effected without disturbing the reservoir or the water-closet. It will be necessary only to uncouple the pipe B at its connection with parta, and the latter may then be unscrewed, taking out with it the valves and valve-stem and leaving part b remaining in place. This removal will, however, be seldom ,required, because tightness at valve M is not necessary, and valve D may be removed for repacking .by simply unserewing` the cap g. The valve D simply sets on the end of the valve-stem, like a hat, and may be taken oft' whenever required.

I employ a spring, r, behind the valve D, simply for the purpose of keeping said valve closed, if for any reason the water-pressure tshould be temporarily removed.

If contracted space renders itinconvenient to place the reservoir L immediately behind the closet, as shown in Fig. 1, it may be placed at one side or even outside the apartmententirely,

Vas shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and i-t may Water-way, and a lever, F, within the hopper to engage with and actuate said stem, and mechanism whereby said lever F may be actuated, substantially as set forth.

3. In a water-closet or other receptacle, the

combination of a stem entirely within the water-way and actuating mechanism within the bowl, and a water-connection provided with a valve, D, and a valve, m, both mounted on and simultaneously operated by the same stern, and an intermediate reservoir exterior to the closet, as set forth.

4. In a water closet or other similar receptacle, 'a water-'connection provided with valve D, combined with a valve, M, and an interme'- diate reservoir, closed at its top to form an airohamber, and an air-valve which may be-placed more or less near the top, substantially as andk for the purpose set forth.

5. In a water-closet or other similar recep tacle, a service-pipeprovided with a valve, l), avalve, M, provided with a chamber, O, and a valve-stein, E, common to'both of said valves, combined with a reservoir, L, intermediate between said valves, and a lever, F, actuated by suitable mechanism, as set forth.

6. In a water-closet or other similar receptacle, a water-service pipe provided with a valve, D, and its operative stem located entirely within the water-way, combined with the compound lever, whereof one member, F, is within the hopper A and the other member is outside of the same.

7. In a water-closet or other similar reeep-vY tacle, a water-service pipe provided with a valve, N, and a valve, M, and a connecting operative device combined with a reservoir, L, intermediate as to said valves, and an air-valve, D, at thc lower end of a tube depending in said reservoir, whereby the aircompression may be modied, as set forth.

8. A valve-stein having the valves D and M, controlled by said stem, and an interposed reservoir, L, combined with the lever T to engage with and aotuate said stem at one extremity of the rock-shaft l/V and the lever Y at the other extremity, and coupled therewith the 1ever Gr, depressed bythe weight of the user to operate said valves, as set forth.

n. D. o.` SMITH.

Witnesses:

J. C. TURNER, AUers. J oRDAN. 

